A Survival Guide for a Counselor in the Apocalypse Chapter 48

Chapter 48

 

For now, we decided to keep going. The woman, whose injuries were too severe, said she would rest for a bit before moving on, and Lee Hyun chose to continue with us.

It seemed the woman and Lee Hyun had only met by chance near the entrance when the joint event began, so there wasn’t much regret in parting. The woman looked slightly reluctant to separate from Lee Hyun, but he had already turned away.

Wow, cold. Really cold.

The three of us headed toward the carousel. The carousel attraction wasn’t anything special. It was a simple shooting game, though the targets being the “traitors”, the “Citizens of 6”, was a bit nauseating…

“…What the hell?”

Lee Hyun’s shooting skills were so absurdly good that the attraction ended before I could even feel guilty. Lee Hoin didn’t fire a single shot, and I only fired a couple, yet everything was already over.

‘Why is he even carrying a sword?’

If he’d carried a gun, he could’ve conquered the world. I’m pretty sure there were gun-type weapons, too.

‘That damn medieval knight concept.’

Well, if he’d carried a gun, it would’ve made him more troublesome, and Sa Jaeheon would’ve gone hunting him the moment he opened his eyes.

Anyway, from a corner, we took out another relic from a box. This time, it was an ear.

“Ah, fuck, why is everything here like this?”

Lee Hoin frowned immediately. Honestly, among everything we’d obtained so far, the heart was in the best condition.

That at least looked like a truly ‘healthy heart’. The finger was on the verge of decay, and the ear looked swollen in some strange way.

“…It seems to have decayed while submerged in water. About five days… though we’d need to check other conditions as well.”

Lee Hyun analyzed why it ended up like this while holding the ear. There were two ears in total.

Lee Hoin turned his head away as if he didn’t even want to touch it, and I handed one to Lee Hyun. He stared at it briefly before wrapping it in cloth and putting it into his bag. I did the same, roughly wrapping it in torn fabric.

 

—

[Ear that Heard Malicious Words]

An ear that lost its function after hearing malicious words.

It cut itself off and threw itself into water, wishing for luck,

and indeed, the one who cut off the ear obtained good fortune.

Perhaps this ear brings misfortune instead?

※ ‘Emotion’ is required.

—

 

—

[An ear that brings misfortune to one who already has bad luck!]

[Wow, you’ve found it perfectly.]

—

 

Four.

‘Two more to go.’

If we just cleared two more attractions, we could leave. After exiting the carousel, we entered a place that seemed relatively safe.

It was a “find the object” type attraction that looked less dRageous. Though rather than objects, it was closer to body parts. Still, it was the safest among everything we’d done so far.

But we didn’t find a relic.

“Easier than I thought. Aside from being disgusting.”

Lee Hoin said while roughly wiping his hands with a towel. Indeed, in a space so bright it hurt your eyes, grabbing things dripping with blood… honestly, it was disgusting. Even Lee Hyun didn’t seem pleased.

As we stepped out and were about to head to the last attraction, the entire space suddenly echoed loudly.

 

—

The parade is starting!

Watch the parade, and you’ll get one stamp!

—

 

A parade?

At those words, Lee Hyun and Lee Hoin reacted while scanning the surroundings.

“They said we get a stamp if we watch the parade.”

Lee Hoin seemed ready to move, thinking we could just watch comfortably and get one.

“We don’t know what kind of parade it is.”

Meanwhile, Lee Hyun clearly warned against it.

In a grotesque atmosphere where all rewards looked like pieces of corpses, hearing “parade” naturally made you imagine something filled with blood and flesh. Like something out of a horror movie.

At Lee Hyun’s concern, Lee Hoin fell silent for a moment.

 

—

Watch the parade!

We’ll give you a stamp!

Come see the parade!

—

 

Before we knew it, most people who had come out into the lobby were being led by the “Citizens of 6” to stand outside the guidelines where the parade would take place, murmuring among themselves.

The “Citizens of 6” approached us as well.

 

—

Come watch the parade!

It’s a rare opportunity!

There are more entertaining sights than you’d expect!

—

 

Before we could even respond, one of the “Citizens of 6” stamped us. The moment that happened, we were already standing outside the parade guidelines.

Ah, damn it. Forced?

“What is this?”

“I said I was going somewhere else!”

Others standing nearby shouted in protest. But faster than their complaints was the start of the parade.

Whether they protested or not, the parade began anyway. A parade where no one enjoyed it except the performers.

People dressed as monkeys led the front. Behind them, people in flashy outfits rode large parade floats, moving around and performing dances that were hard to describe.

Most of them were smiling brightly. Not mechanical smiles, but ones that genuinely looked joyful.

And at that moment, something crawled up my spine.

 

—

[Rage: 80%]

—

 

No different from a red warning signal.

 

—

[What made you angry?]

[Watching the parade?]

[Or were you already angry, and now thinking about it made you angrier?]

—

 

While the commentator spouted nonsense, I quietly stared toward the end of the parade. It kept passing by.

A surprisingly normal parade.

Since nothing strange was happening, the other two gradually lowered their weapons and simply watched. It made sense… once this ended, we could leave.

Only I stared uneasily at the end of the parade.

‘Are we screwed?’

And little by little, the Rage began to rise. Not mine.

 

—

[Rage: 85%]

—

 

That thing’s Rage.

At the far end of the parade, something came into view. A massive figure.

It was slowly walking forward.

 

—

[Rage: 90%]

—

 

The ‘Rage’ drew closer.

I could see its gaze locking directly onto me.

 

—

[Wow. Our narrator really can’t stand not attracting attention in any event.]

[Like a walking LED billboard with a hundred lights, huh? Everyone’s practically drooling.]

[A complete superstar! (Admiration)]

—

 

As if writing “admiration” actually makes it real.

 

—

[Oh. Sharp as ever. Maybe that’s your suspicious nature?]

—

 

While the commentator snickered, the Rage kept rising… and finally hit 100%.

And at that moment…

The moment it reached 100%, ‘that thing’ stood right in front of me.

Three eyes stared at me. Directly at me. It wasn’t even ambiguous; he had lowered his head to look down at me.

How thoughtful. Yeah, thanks a lot.

“…What is that?”

“Why is it doing that? What is that?”

The surroundings buzzed. The parade stopped. The “Citizens of 6” froze, their smiles gone.

And in that situation, the clown stared down at me.

Lee Hoin and Lee Hyun clenched their teeth in tension, and I slowly gripped my weapon.

At the moment, a trumpet sound echoed from somewhere, Lee Hoin instinctively dragged both Lee Hyun and me down.

Whoooong

Something heavy sliced through the air.

The sound was brief.

Shhk–

The slicing sound lasted longer.

Splaash!

Something scattered.

Thud

Tap, thump

Something collapsed onto a wet, soggy ground.

There were no dying screams.

There were no last cries of the dead.

Only the screams of the living remained.

“Ah–aaah!”

Those who barely escaped the zone, those who narrowly survived, screamed.

“AAAAAH!”

“KYAAAH!!”

The screams rang out painfully loud.

The clown still stared down at me.

Most of those around me had been ”beheaded”.

I didn’t even know what had done it. Something had passed through… probably a blade. A very sharp blade that swept horizontally across the area.

“Ah, shit!”

Lee Hoin shouted, and Lee Hyun immediately pulled both of us back. With a strong force, he shoved us to a spot completely free of bloodstains.

Even then, the clown continued to stare at me. Only its painted mouth curved upward, while its face remained expressionless.

Behind it, I could see the trumpet. It sounded once.

At the same time, all the “Citizens of 6” knelt and bowed.

And then…

The clown began to smile.

Its mouth stretched wide, as if tearing apart.

While staring at me, it began to grin from ear to ear.